After a few attempts to join more KCJS-typical CIPs, like an aikido circle and a choir, I sat down and considered how I actually wanted to participate in Kyoto’s community. The answer to this question, like many others in my life, was cats. I had volunteered for a few years with cats back in America, so I knew the gist of what I was signing up for. My language class sensei located a shelter about a minute’s walk from the Kamikatsura train station. （「＝L’s=猫の家族探し」。）
It clicked early on to me that the patient people who worked at L’s were willing to guess at my dubious vocabulary until they understood what I was saying, to my relief.
The first day I got there, there were three kittens who had been born only the previous week and abandoned in the street by their mother, pictured here: http://catls.blog5.fc2.com/blog-entry-477.html
I got to see them saved by the people working there, and sometimes even care for them myself, which was tremendously satisfying since I’d only ever volunteered with cats over the age of 15 back in the states. I remember one week I became very startled to see a very large bump on one of their bellies. I was extremely worried because I’d only ever seen that size of bump on cats who had cancer. I quickly looked up the word for tumor and told the owner of the shelter. She kind of laughed and told me to my relief that it was just a hernia. I don’t know how that little guy got a hernia at three weeks old, but he’s still fine scampering around and I know the word for tumor now.
This is just one of the many stories I have of the good people at L’s saving lives and legitimately caring about their animals. The interesting thing people don’t tell you about many shelters in Japan is that they, like L’s, take place in private homes and living spaces, and are filled with animals to which volunteers donate their time, money, and love. I was shocked to learn this, and am elated there are such good people in Japan fighting under the radar to save animals’ lives, both inside and outside NPO’s.
KCJS CIP Synopsis
Ahh! This is the best!
I’m pretty jealous that you got to work with animals 🙂
Have you learned a lot about cats/how to care for them in your time at the shelter?
What sort of things have you learned about Japanese culture from this experience?
Thank you for the picture of the kittens <3
There are some things I regret not asking, like why bother keeping the very feral and wild acting cat in the cage in the upper room when it doesn’t seem to belong in a shelter, but I’d like to think I’ve learned some!
Many days I was there, there weren’t any other people, so I didn’t learn too too much about Japanese culture, but this is the only place I’ve had to practice the whole slippers thing since I live in an apartment haha
Thank you!!
Omg Fury! This sounds like so much fun, and definitely very stress relieving. Being around animals is very therapeutic, especially for me. Did you have a similarly therapeutic experience? I’m so jealous. Animals are so much fun.
Thank you, Dylan!!
And yes, it was very therapeutic. Definitely the best part of my week.
I cried so much my last day! Haha =^-^=
Wow Fury, this sounds like such a wonderful experience! The baby cats are incredibly adorable.
I liked your story about learning the word for tumor. I’m glad that the kitten was safe and that you learned a new word 🙂 It’s amusing the sorts of unexpected vocabulary we end up learning through our daily experiences.
What do you think are the differences between animal shelters in the US vs in Japan? Are all, or most, shelters in Japan based out of private residences, like you described? That was a pretty surprising detail for me. Are the sorts of practices used to help the animals different? What about fundraising efforts? Is everything run by donations and volunteers?
I hope that the shelter you volunteered at finds more generous study abroad students like yourself in the future, and I hope that you are able to continue helping out cats in need when you get back to the US 🙂
It’s sad and amazing how the cats find such inventive and interesting ways to injure themselves. It took me a while to figure it out, but one cat with an injury on the absolute middle of its back was a burn from a kotatsu. I can’t imagine that’s uncommon in Japan, actually. Cats (and people) love those things.
I wish I had asked more questions like the ones you asked in your questions, Maeve. I believe many cats at this shelter were sponsored by people who can’t own cats but still want to help one? I wasn’t very good at reading the website, but it also focuses on finding the cats homes.
Shelters here seem to be private residence based as far as I can tell, and I know pet shops here absolutely suck when it comes to animal treatment. I haven’t a clue about fundraising, actually. I really should haha
But I do know that Japan is starting to get better about animal treatment slowly over time. Like they’re finally doing spay and release rather than just culling strays. You can see the tipped ears of the feral cats who have been spayed and released.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment!
( ･ω･ )ノ